By Illinois Review
The People Who Play By The Rules PAC has officially reached the end of the road – closing the books on an expensive political operation that burned through tens of millions of dollars, paid more than $1.1 million to a consulting firm controlled by its chairman and treasurer, Dan Proft, and produced virtually nothing in the win column.
Illinois State Board of Elections records show the independent expenditure committee filed its final campaign finance report covering the period ending July 17, 2026. The committee is now listed with a “Final” status.
For Illinois conservatives, the PAC’s record offers a costly lesson in what happens when enormous political resources produce little measurable return.
The committee was bankrolled almost entirely by Lake Forest billionaire Richard Uihlein, who contributed more than $42 million to the operation. Much of that money was spent during the 2022 election cycle on television, radio and digital advertising aimed at defeating Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and supporting Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey.
The result was a blowout.
Pritzker defeated Bailey by nearly 13 points, with the race called the moment polls closed – despite tens of millions of dollars in outside spending aimed at boosting the Republican ticket and defeating the Democratic governor.
But while Republican candidates struggled at the ballot box, consultants working for the PAC continued getting paid.
Campaign finance records show Starfish Consulting LLC, a company controlled by Proft, received more than $1.14 million from People Who Play By The Rules during the committee’s four-year existence.
Proft, a Naples, Florida-based Chicago radio host on AM 560 and longtime Illinois political operative whose political efforts have been marked by repeated election losses, routinely received consulting payments through Starfish, including $25,000 monthly payments that continued for years after the 2022 election.
The contrast became especially stark during local elections.
Illinois Review reported in April 2023 that during one quarterly reporting period, People Who Play By The Rules spent approximately $142,000 on consultants – including $75,000 paid to Starfish Consulting.
During that same period, the PAC reported spending just $3,725 on mail supporting three school board candidates.
All three lost.
Over its four-year existence, the PAC supported just four candidates – Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey and three school board candidates.
All four lost their elections.
More than $42 million flowed into the PAC during its four-year run, yet its candidate record ended at 0-4, with no major legislative breakthroughs or lasting political infrastructure capable of changing the balance of power in Springfield.
Proft’s losing streak extended beyond the PAC. During the 2026 Republican primary for governor, Ted Dabrowski’s campaign paid Proft $75,000 in consulting fees. Dabrowski went on to lose the primary to Bailey by nearly 25 points – another high-profile defeat for a campaign that paid Proft for political consulting.
Proft has characterized the PAC’s work as independent political advocacy, and independent expenditure committees are legally separate from the candidates they support.
During the PAC’s four-year existence, Democrats maintained control of every statewide constitutional office and supermajorities in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly.
The July filing formally closes a four-year political operation that was once among the best-funded conservative independent expenditure committees in Illinois.
